Lonely
by Bianca Chang
Summary: There are some things Naruto wouldn’t have ever expected Sasuke to say. Then again, Sasuke isn’t the same Sasuke he was a few moments ago. SasuNaruSasu. Angst.


Sasuke's temporary appearance revealed more than Naruto would have expected…SasuNaruSasu-ish

**AN:** Spoiler warning ahead.

Anyway, enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I totally own Naruto. In fact, Masashi Kishimoto stole him from me! What? Don't believe me? Ok, fine. I _don't_ own Naruto. There. Happy?

**L** o n e l y

**B**y: **B**ianca **C**hang

"Naruto, lookit me!" a short version of Sasuke exclaimed enthusiastically.

Naruto _had_ been looking, with his mouth hanging wide open. Sasuke was shorter, and he looked much younger than he had appeared just moments ago.

In fact, the raven looked just like himself, only eleven years younger. His voice was high pitched, and his eyes were smiling.

'What the hell had happened to him?' Naruto thought to himself.

He remembered what had taken place back at the battlefield…

_(Flashback)_

It was an ordinary assassination mission.

Sasuke and Naruto had been sent off to eliminate a dark S-Class ninja. Though Tsunade hadn't given the two seventeen year olds (1) full details as to why this ninja needed to be killed so quickly, Sasuke and Naruto both took the mission without question. The two had just recently become ANBUs, and didn't intend to start off their new jobs on a sour note.

So there they were, attacking the mystery nin Gojinbou.

It was odd. The two hadn't an idea why Tsunade had wanted Gojinbou dead so rapidly. Though he had slaughtered many innocent people, he didn't come off as a powerful ninja. The two ANBU members had barely been fighting him twenty minutes, and he was already half dead. Some S-Class ninja.

In fact, Sasuke was almost annoyed with Tsunade for giving the two such a tedious yet simple mission. He de-activated his sharingan, not wanting to waste his precious power on such an amateur ninja.

"You can take a break Sasuke," Naruto panted out. "I'll finish him off. It'll only take a minute."

The seventeen year old decided to decline the offer. He knew what Naruto was thinking. If Naruto were the one who finished off their first mission, then what would that look like to Tsunade? Naruto would seem more experienced, and therefore may get assigned more missions than he. And then, of course, Naruto would rub that fact into Sasuke's face, which the sharingan user didn't care for.

"It's alright Naruto, I have him!" Sasuke shouted to his partner. Before Naruto could protest, the onyx eyed man had already lunged at the bleeding missing nin.

Since Sasuke's sharingan had been deactivated, he didn't notice the hand signs Gojinbou was making. It also didn't help that Sasuke was caught up in his own premature self triumph, thinking he was going to be the one to complete the pair's first ANBU mission.

Naruto, on the other hand, who had been watching Gojinbou, had noticed those faint movements.

Before Naruto could give Sasuke any warning, and even before Sasuke had reached the half dead Gojinbou, a peculiar thing happened.

"Yochi na no jutsu!"(2) the missing ninja muttered.

And Sasuke wasn't quite Sasuke anymore.

-

-

Afterwards, Naruto had hastily thrown a kunai into Gojinbou's throat and killed his target. Then he had picked up the shorter version of Sasuke and ran as quickly as he could back to Konoha.

Naruto was now standing in front of the Uchiha complex and kneeling down in front of chibi Sasuke, wondering what on earth he was going to do.

He didn't want to go to Tsunade just yet. It _was_ the two's first mission after all. If Tsunade found out that they had messed up their very first mission, she would have to give them easier tasks.

Besides, Sasuke didn't seem to be hurt. He just seemed… littler. Gojinbou was very weak when he had performed the jutsu on Sasuke. It was likely whatever the assassinated ninja had done to Sasuke would wear off in a couple hours.

If not then… well, Naruto would think about that later. Right now, his primary goal was to take care of his miniature friend. It _was _partially his fault Sasuke looked like this, in any case.

Getting into eye level with Sasuke, Naruto asked, "Uh, so Sasuke… how old do you think you are?"

The child smiled brightly. "Se-ven-teen!" he responded brightly, enunciating each syllable. "I'm turning eighteen July 23rd!" (3)

'I guess that Sasuke has all his knowledge, he's just acting (and looks) like a six year old.' Naruto concluded. 'So he's like a childish adult trapped in a child's body, I suppose.'

Though he would never admit it, Naruto thought Sasuke looked cute as a six year old. The raven seemed so carefree and animated about everything, which was completely atypical to Sasuke's average behavior.

Now that Sasuke was under Naruto's care until he reverted back to his normal, asshole-ish self, Naruto decided to have some fun with Sasuke.

"So Sasuke, what do you wanna do?" Naruto asked his friend with a warm smile.

"Ice cream!" was the vibrant reply.

Though seeing Sasuke in this form worried the blond, seeing him so happy made his heart melt. Would the raven ever be this happy as his normal form? Naruto wasn't sure, and he especially wasn't sure if he wanted an answer to that question.

-

-

"Alright, we're home!" Naruto said excitedly. All of Sasuke's new found enthusiasm was rubbing off on him. The blond had given the black haired child a piggyback ride all the way home from the ice cream shop.

"Hooray!" chibi Sasuke cried, bopping up and down on Naruto's back. "I'm just in time for bed!"

Naruto checked his watch. It was only nine o'clock at night. Sasuke had been in his child form for four hours now. If the raven wasn't himself in the morning, Tsunade would have to be notified. Naruto frowned. He really didn't want to face Tsunade.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, noticing the blue eyed man's frown. Even as a child, Sasuke seemed to be sensitive of his surroundings.

Naruto smiled to Sasuke. "Nothing's wrong, buddy. Now come on, let's get you to bed." He pulled the child off his back and held his hand, walking into the gigantic yet barren Uchiha complex.

Even though technically Sasuke wasn't acting like an adult (or looking like one, for that matter), he was still as smart as one. That didn't stop Naruto from treating Sasuke like a child, though. The whole time they spent together, Naruto called Sasuke as "Sasuke-chan" and "buddy." Sasuke didn't mind, even though as his old self he probably would have beat Naruto up if he had called him "Sasuke-chan."

The child grabbed Naruto's hand and began to lead Naruto up to his room, yammering on about how vanilla ice cream was his favourite flavor, and how he had to brush his teeth before bed.

And then the two entered the main room of the house.

Suddenly, Sasuke's vigorous chatting ceased. The fast pace Sasuke had been keeping slowed, and it almost seemed as if the air around them got darker.

Naruto looked down at his friend. "What's wrong, Sasuke-chan?"

Sasuke wiped a tear from his face. "Nothin'"

The blond got eye level with Sasuke again. "You and I both know that _something_ is wrong. Talk to me about it, and maybe you'll feel better!"

Without warning, Sasuke embraced Naruto, openly sobbing. This completely caught Naruto with surprise.

"Th-this is where I found my p-parents dead, and also when I saw nii-san standing over th-their dead b-b-bodies!" he sobbed into Naruto's orange and black coat.

All Naruto could do was squeeze his friend back quietly. He wasn't very good at knowing what to do when someone was crying, especially when that someone happened to be Sasuke. Naruto wasn't even sure Sasuke knew _how_ to cry, since the boy was so stoic all the time. And now, Sasuke was openly sobbing into his jacket, and Naruto was more perplexed than he'd ever been in his life.

"A-and then," the upset boy continued, ignoring Naruto's silence. "Sasuke killed nii-san! Sasuke killed nii-san, and nii-san was only protecting Sasuke all along!" Sasuke was in hysterics now.

Naruto's heart ached. Sasuke had probably been this upset all along, but being an adult probably made it hard for Sasuke to cry. Sasuke had most likely been holding in all this sorrow for two years, and hadn't cried once. Or worse, Sasuke's pride had gotten in the way of his emotions, and probably felt ashamed of the fact that he was depressed.

'Being a child makes it easier to cry, I guess.' Naruto mused.

The blond was also glad Sasuke was opening up to him. Sasuke had only covered what went on between him and Itachi briefly, and Naruto didn't want to press the issue. He could tell Sasuke wasn't interesting in talking about it. Now, the Uchiha was talking about his experience candidly.

"E-every time Sasuke walks into this room, he wants to cry." Sasuke continued relentlessly. "It brings back all his sad memories, and Sasuke becomes so miserable he can hardly bear it."

Naruto hugged Sasuke tighter. If Sasuke was this sad, why didn't he just move out of his house? If Sasuke sold the Uchiha complex, he would make millions, and could have easily afforded a nice house.

But then Naruto remembered Sasuke's character. If Sasuke moved out of the Uchiha complex, people would ask him why he was moving. If people asked him why he was moving, Sasuke would have to admit that he was lonely and sad living in the place of his family's massacre. Sasuke would never, _ever _admit to anyone that he was lonely and sad. He was too proud to come clean about something like that.

Naruto's own eyes filled with tears. Sasuke's past was so heartbreaking. Even _Naruto's_ history wasn't as upsetting.

"Shh, it's alright Sasuke." Naruto said softly, patting the child's back in comfort. "I promise you'll never be lonely, as long as I'm around."

Sasuke nodded, and hugged Naruto like a koala. The blond patted Sasuke's hair and carried him upstairs, into Sasuke's bedroom.

Trying to be gentle, Naruto lay Sasuke down onto his bed. Sasuke closed his eyes, and attempted to relax.

Naruto wiped the tears off Sasuke's cheeks with his sleeve. The raven began to suck on his thumb for comfort.

When Naruto thought Sasuke was asleep, he got up quietly and attempted to leave, thinking Sasuke wouldn't like it if Naruto stayed beside his bed. If Sasuke woke up in the morning, back to his average self, and found Naruto watching him, that probably wouldn't go over well.

Just as Naruto was about to walk out the door, he heard a small voice.

"Wait," the voice said. "Come back, Naruto."

Naruto walked back to Sasuke's side. How could he have even thought about leaving the child alone in his despair?

Sasuke clung onto Naruto's sleeve, looking at him with innocent eyes. "Will you sleep with me, Naruto-senpai?"

Naruto's eyes widened at the question, but he quickly snapped himself back to reality. Of course Sasuke didn't mean _have sex_ with him, but just to harmlessly lie beside each other for comfort.

The kyuubi container nodded, and lay down beside his best friend. Sasuke hugged him, and closed his eyes, looking peaceful, finally.

"This is why I'm in love with you, Naruto," the black haired boy mumbled. "Naruto is always here for me, no matter what. Even when I was with the snake man, I knew Naruto was looking for me. I love Naruto so much…"

That statement caught Naruto off guard. Sasuke… was in love with him? Thinking back, this information did make sense. Sasuke only confided in Naruto, and he didn't enjoy talking to anyone else. Not only that, Sasuke did seem a little possessive when anyone came close. Naruto slowly put all the pieces together.

But love? Naruto really wasn't expecting that.

Sleep was clogging Naruto's brain. For now, he would sleep, and in the morning, he would figure things out.

-

-

"Wake up, dobe." A deep voice said.

Naruto's eyes opened, and saw a seventeen year old Sasuke leaning over him.

Relief swarmed over him. Sasuke was back to normal, and he hadn't suffered any permanent damage. He wouldn't even have to see Tsunade after all.

"Sasuke, you're back to normal!" the blond cried out with happiness.

"Hn," was the response.

Though the kyuubi container truly was glad his friend had reverted back to normal, he was sad that Sasuke's pure and carefree smile had left his face, perhaps even permanently. The raven was very different as a kid compared to how he was now. For the seventeen year old Sasuke, smiles were rare, and as much as Naruto loved his smiles, the blue eyed man hardly ever saw them.

"So, uh…" Naruto began timidly. "Do you remember anything that happened when you were a kid?"

The prominent blush on Sasuke's face told Naruto yes. "Uh, please forget what I said and how I acted when I was a child. The jutsu I fell under not only look differently, but it made me behave differently as well."

Naruto wasn't surprised by what the Uchiha had said. Though most children were happy, even Sasuke couldn't have been _that_ happy as a youngster.

Yet something had dawned upon the blond. "You may have taken a slightly more energetic personality, but the things that you said… you weren't lying, were you?"

Sasuke fell silent, just as Naruto had anticipated. The sharingan user stared at the pillow beside him, avoided the blue eyes' gaze. The black haired man's silence answered Naruto's question. So Sasuke _had_ been telling the truth when he said that he felt sad whenever he walked into his mansion.

Did that also mean that Sasuke was in love with him?

"Anyway," Naruto said while shaking his head, hoping it would rid him of his own thoughts. "If living in this place is so upsetting with you, I think you should move out."

Sasuke continued to avoid the blond's stare. "Where would I go, then?"

With a grin and two thumbs up, Naruto said, "You can move in with me!"

The blond received a blank stare. "But you're apartment is so small."

"Teme," growled Naruto. "You said you were lonely. If you refuse to move in with me, then _I'll_ move in with _you._"

Sasuke's cheeks turned a deep shad of fuchsia. It was so apparent that he was embarrassed that even his best friend knew of his loneliness. Not only that, but it was probably even more humiliating that Naruto had seen him blushing. Poor Sasuke. His pride got in the way of everything.

Naruto had expected Sasuke to be stubborn and refuse again, but he caved instead. "Fine, dobe. Move in with me until I buy an apartment big enough for the two of us."

"Yay!" Naruto cried, jumping up and down on his bed. When Sasuke gave him the death glare, the blond pulled stopped his jumping, but then pulled Sasuke into a tight hug! "I'm so happy! We're gonna live together!"

"Naruto, calm down. I need to ask you a serious question."

Naruto broke the embrace and looked up into the taller man's eyes, suddenly serious. "What is it Sasuke?"

"Um, so you do remember what I said right before I went to sleep, right?"

"You mean about you loving me?"

Sasuke nodded. "So… what do you have to say about it?"

The blond closed his eyes, thinking. After a minute, he opened his eyes and replied, "I've never thought of you as more than a friend… a best friend."

When Sasuke's face remained expressionless, Naruto knew he hadn't said what Sasuke wanted to hear.

"But…" Naruto continued, thoughtful. "Now that I think about it, I'm not even sure if the kind of love I feel for you is the brotherly type."

Sasuke's lips began to curve upward slightly. "So what does that mean?"

"It means… it means that I'm willing to give a relationship with you a shot."

Sasuke smiled, and leaned into Naruto for a kiss, but the blond stopped him with his finger.

"But only under one condition."

A black eyebrow was raised. "Oh, and what would that condition be?"

"I want you to smile more often."

And of course, Sasuke smiled. "Only for you, dobe."

Again, the onyx eyed man leaned in for a kiss, but this time, Naruto didn't stop him.

After a few passionate minutes, Naruto stopped for a breath of air.

"Can I still call you Sasuke-chan?"

Naruto's reply was a violent one.

* * *

**AN: **Yay! My first oneshot (kinda).

(1) – Sasuke and Naruto are seventeen in this story, and when Sasuke is in his child form, Naruto says he appears to look eleven years younger. In case you guys didn't catch that (or you're just bad at math), this means that Sasuke appears to be six years old.

(2) – literally means "childish no jutsu." And yes, I did make that up. Don't judge me :P.

(3) – July 23rd actually is Sasuke's birthday. It says so on Wikipedia (which I don't own, ftw).


End file.
